Des Moines–The Statesmen baseball team struggled in the opener and then unfortunately could not hold a late lead in the nightcap as it was swept by Grand View in a Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader Sunday.

WPU (19-19, 9-14 Heart) lost by scores of 14-2 and 7-6.

Johnny Valdez (Jr., San Jacinto, Calif., Business Management) provided the two big hits for the visitors in the first matchup, driving in a run on a third-inning double and bringing in another on a seventh-inning triple.

Valdez and Robert Phiakeo (Sr., San Diego, Calif., Business Management) both finished 2-for-4.

Grand View (22-10, 18-6 Heart), which outhit WPU 17-8, countered with two huge innings, including seven runs in the second and six more in the fourth.

Tyler Martinez (Sr., San Diego, Calif., Sociology) ended the game with a pair of strikeouts.

The second outing witnessed the navy and gold post a big number this time, tallying five runs in the first frame.  Steven Sattz (Sr., Pickering, Ontario, Physical Education) had an RBI single, while Valdez brought in the second run on a sacrifice fly.

It was Dominik Sawyer (Jr., San Diego, Calif., Psychology and Human Services) who had the biggest impact, though, as he produced three runs on his second home run of the season.

GVU answered right back with two runs in the bottom half, but William Penn extended its advantage to 6-2 on a J.P. Rios (Sr., San Diego, Calif., Business Management) run-scoring single in the fifth inning.

Unfortunately, the rest of the afternoon belonged to the Vikings as they tied the contest at 6-6 in the sixth and then won it in the seventh.  WPU nearly forced the nightcap into extra play with back-to-back force outs at home, but could not record the third and final out.

Sawyer and Colton Johnson (Jr., Westminster, Calif., Physical Education) both finished 3-for-4, while Javier Gonzalez (Jr., Lakeside, Calif., Physical Education) was 2-for-4 with two runs scored.  Daniel Macias (Jr., Chula Vista, Calif., Physical Education) walked twice in the setback as well.

Marshall Siordia (Sr., Lancaster, Calif., Sociology and Psychology) struck out six in the loss.

“We were simply swept by a much better team today,” Head Coach Mike Laird said.  “Again, we failed to make some basic plays and frequently pitched from behind.  Daniel Macias was tremendous on defense in center field.”

Next Up: William Penn returns to Oskaloosa Tuesday to host Hannibal-LaGrange in a non-conference doubleheader beginning at 4 p.m.

Story provided by Wade Steinlage